In an article entitled "Solid cores of tumors keeping out best drugs" by Sandra Blakeslee published in the Jul. 8, 1989 edition of the Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ontario, Ms. Blakeslee submitted that a growing number of researchers believe that a basic misunderstanding of the structure of solid tumors has led researchers into designing cancer drugs that are doomed to fail in many patients.
She relates that, Dr. Herberman, Director of the Pittsburgh Cancer Center, said that for decades, cancer researchers have simply developed drugs, put them in the bloodstream and assumed they would be carried to the tumor giving almost no consideration to how uniformly the drug is distributed once it reaches the tumor.
Her article also provided that according to Dr. Judah Folkman, a leading researcher on blood growth factors at the Harvard Medical School, for a long time, physicians have been taught that tumors outgrow their blood supply. According to the article that statement is not true. Tumors compress their blood supply. This compression makes it harder to administer drugs.
The article provides further that most people think a tumor is nothing but a collection of cancer cells. According to Dr. Jain, another researcher, in reality the tumor is only 50 per cent cells. The other half is blood vessels and interstitial space. Interstitial space in a tumor, he said, can be likened to the space between marbles packed in a box.
The article further provides that no matter how biological agents are mixed and administered, they must cross a blood-vessel wall and then cross the interstitium to reach their targets, cancer cells. The article continues that every tumor is different and there are different regions within each. Moreover, tumors change daily as they grow and rearrange parts. Most blood vessels inside tumors are highly disorganized as they take tortuous turns and grow peculiar attachments to nearby vessels.
In general, Dr. Jain said, as a tumor grows, its outer region recruits new blood vessels from surrounding normal tissue. It also forms several abnormal blood vessels of its own. As the tumor grows in a confined space, many of the twisted blood vessels near its center are crushed. In turn, the tumor cells near them appear to die, although they grow into active cancer if transplanted in other animals. High pressures build up in these necrotic regions. Both blood vessels and liquid plasma in the interstitial spaces are squeezed. The pressure, therefore, prevents blood-borne molecules, including oxygen, from entering the central tumor areas.
Pressure is not uniform in normal tissue, Dr. Jain said, so a large molecule such as an antibody would reach its target through convection induced by pressure differences. But in the center of a tumor, pressure is uniformly high, blocking convection.
Molecules also migrate by diffusion Dr. Jain said, which is similar to the way a drop of ink spreads in water.
But he indicated that he measured antibody diffusion in tumors and found that it can take days, weeks or months for such large molecules to reach uniform concentration by diffusion in tumors. By then, it may be too late for treatments to do any good.
Finally, the fluid that builds up in the interstitium slowly leaks out of the tumor, he said, washing away molecules trying to reach its center.
In our Canadian Patent Application Serial Number 568,512 we disclose a new formulation suitable for use for treating cancer (for use in conjunction with at least thermotherapy (hyperthermia) and if desired, other modalities (such as chemotherapy or radiation)), the formulation comprising (for example in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier):
(a) a glucose inhibiting (non-toxic) amount of an agent that blocks the glucose transport protein (active transport molecule in the membrane) of a cell from transporting glucose into the cell, and PA1 (b) an effective (non-toxic) amount of an agent which (i) enhances penetration and transport of agent (a) through the tissue surrounding the various cellular elements, generally known as scar tissue or fibrous reaction around the cancerous tumor, and (ii) alters the penetration characteristics of the tissue surrounding the tumor to permit agent (a) to be transported to the center of the tumor. PA1 (a) a glucose inhibiting (non-toxic) amount to an agent that blocks the glucose transport protein (active transport molecule in the membrane) of a cell from transporting glucose into the cell, and PA1 (b) an effective (non-toxic) amount of an agent which (i) enhances penetration and transport of agent (a) through the tissue surrounding the various cellular elements, generally known as scar tissue or fibrous reaction around the cancerous tumor, and (ii) alters the penetration characteristics of the tissue surrounding the tumor to permit agent (a) to be transported to the center of the tumor. PA1 (a) a glucose inhibiting (non-toxic) amount of an agent that blocks the glucose transport protein (active transport molecule in the membrane) of a cell from transporting glucose into the cell, and PA1 (b) an effective (non-toxic) amount of an agent which (i) enhances penetration and transporting of agent (a) through the tissue surrounding the various cellular elements, generally known as scar tissue or fibrous reaction around the cancerous tumor, and (ii) alters the penetration characteristics of the tissue surrounding the tumor to permit agent (a) to be transported to the center of the tumor, and subjecting the cancer cells to hyperthermia (thermotherapy) therapy. In some instances other modalities (for example chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy) may also be employed. PA1 (i) enhances penetration and transport of agent (a) through the tissue surrounding the various cellular elements generally known as scar tissue or fibrous reaction around the cancerous tumor, and PA1 (ii) alters the penetration characteristics of the tissue surrounding the tumor to permit agent (a) to be transported to the center of the tumor may comprise dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) (also called methylsulfone methane) or other carrier transport-type molecules having the characteristics which PA1 (i) enhances penetration and transport of agent (a) through the tissue surrounding the various cellular elements, generally known as scar tissue or fibrous reaction around the cancerous tumor, and PA1 (ii) alters the penetration characteristics of the tissue surrounding the tumor to permit agent (a) to be transported to the center of the tumor. PA1 (i) an active pharmacological substance or a mixture of pharmacological substances, either active or suitable for topical administration and PA1 (ii) a topical vehicle which comprises hyaluronic acid or a molecular fraction of hyaluronic acid or a salt of the same with an alkaline metal, an alkaline earth metal, magnesium, aluminium, ammonium or a pharmacological substance, optionally together with additional conventional excipients for pharmaceutical preparations for topical use. PA1 "The vehicling action of the hyaluronic esters also applies to associated medicaments of the type mentioned above in which the active substance acts not only topically or by nasal or rectal absorption, for example by nasal sprays or preparations for inhalation for the oral cavity or the pharynx, but also by oral or parenteral route, for example by intramuscular, subcutaneaous or intravenous route, as it favors absorption of the drug into the application site. The new medicaments can therefore be applied, apart from in the fields already mentioned, in practically all sectors of medicine, such as internal medicine, for example in pathologies of the cardiovascular system, in infections of the respiratory system, the digestive system, the renal system, in diseases of an endocrinological nature, in oncology, in psychiatry etc., and may also be classified therefore from the point of view of their specific action, being perhaps anesthetics, analgesics, anti inflammatories, wound healers, antimicrobics, adrenergic agonsits and antagonists, cytostatics, antirheumatics, antihypertensives, diuretics, sexual hormones, immunostimulants and immunosuppressants, for example, one of the drugs having the activity already described for the therapeutically active alcohols to be used as esterifying component according to the present invention, or for the therapeutically active bases used for the salification of the free carboxylic groups."
We also disclosed a combination and formulation suitable for use for treating cancer, the combination comprising:
After the introduction of the formulation or combination comprising agents (a) and (b) to the patient which have the effect of metabolically compromising the cancer cells of the tumor, the tumor and the cancer cells making up the tumor are stressed by at least thermotherapy (hyperthermia). In this regard, when agent (a) is transported into the tumor cells and the tumor cells are stressed, there is an inadequate amount of glucose available to the tumor cells for them to continue to function metabolically. Thus the tumor cell is impaired in its energy supply and dies. We also disclosed in the application a method for the treatment of cancer which method comprises administering (for example in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier):
The glucose inhibiting (non-toxic) amount of the agent that blocks the glucose transport protein of a cell from transporting glucose into the cell (in cancer cells there appear to be more than in normal cells) may comprise: ##STR1## or their analogues including phlorizin glucuronide; 4-deoxy-phloretin-2-D-glucoside and the like.
The effective (non-toxic) amount of the agent which
In the publication Ontario Medicine, Volume 8, No. 16 dated Aug. 21, 1989 the article "Toxic drug tamed but still potent" describes how an experimental liposomal drug delivery system, is used to encapsulate a highly toxic but highly effective anti-fungal agent, demonstrating that noxious drugs can be transformed into non-toxic agents without compromising clinical efficacy.
The article concluded as follows:
"It was initially hoped that liposomes would offer considerable potential as a drug delivery system for almost all pharmaceutical agents. However, research into the drug delivery system over the past two decades has shown that the artificial, cell-sized spheres form spontaneously with only a small subset of drugs available today thus limiting their use."
The effects of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) was previously studied in respect of the health of patients. The effects of Vitamin C have also been studied with respect to cancer treatment. It was found that the use of ascorbic acid in 10 gram doses to treat cancer patients increased the survival of terminally ill cancer patients. The use of ascorbic acid was found safe in very high doses.
When the vitamin cannot be absorbed completely from the gastrointestinal system, it will remain water in the bowel leading to diarrhea, which is watery but not dangerous unless it causes dehydration; it quickly forces patients to decrease the doses. It has and is being used by millions of people in these doses. Patients have taken 30 grams per day for 30 years. It is safer than common table salt, gram for gram. It does not cause kidney stones, does not cause pernicious anemia, does not make women infertile, does not cause cancer.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide formulations suitable for use to treat disease and conditions, the use of such formulations to treat disease and conditions, methods of treating disease and conditions and the delivery of medicinal and therapeutic agents for the treatment of disease (for example, cancer) and conditions.
Further and other objects of the invention will be realized by those skilled in the art from the following disclosure and in which Applicants refer to literature uncovered after the date of their invention.
Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring glycosaminoglucan. Its molecular weight may vary from 50,000 dalton upwards, and it forms highly viscous solutions. As regards the actual molecular weight of hyaluronic acid in natural biological contexts, this is still a matter of much uncertainty: When the molecular weight of hyaluronic acid is to be determined, different values are obtained depending on the assay method employed, and on the source, the isolation method etc. The acid occurs in animal tissue, e.g. spinal fluid, ocular fluid, synovial fluid, cockscombs, skin, and also in some streptococci. Various grades of hyaluronic acid have been obtained. A preparation with an allegedly high degree of purity and alleged to be entirely free from side effects, is a non-inflammatory form described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,973; this preparation is said to have a molecular weight exceeding 750,000 dalton, preferably exceeding 1,200,000 dalton and is suggested for therapeutic use in various articular conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,619 relates to hyaluronic acid administered intra-articularly having a molecular weight of about 3.times.10.sup.6 dalton or more, which is prone to decrease the proteoglycan content of synovial fluid to almost normal levels. According to this patent, this indicates a positive effect on the proteoglycan metabolism of a joint. According to the Patent this is applicable both to inflammatory conditions and to degeneration caused by treatment with symptomatics, such as corticosteroid preparations. It is thus clear that a sufficiently high molecular weight of the hyaluronic acid is alleged to counteract side effects that might be caused by corticosteroids or other symptomatics producing similar effects. When corticosteroids are applied, the amount of hyaluronic acid in the synovial cavity will according to the Patent increase substantially and according to the inventors their hyaluronic acid preparations have a very positive effect on such clinical symptoms as pain, swelling and lameness.
The patent states that the objectives of the invention are attained by intra-articular administration of an effective amount of hyaluronic acid with a mean molecular weight exceeding 3.times.10.sup.6 dalton, preferably exceeding 4.times.10.sup.6 dalton; usually the molecular weight will not exceed 7.times.10.sup.6 dalton. The dosage of hyaluronic acid administered is stated to be preferably within the range of 5 mg-80 mg. The amount of solution given at each administration is generally less than 60 ml, e.g. less that 20 ml, of an aqueous solution of the acid or its salt. It is convenient to administer the acid dissolved in water (&lt;2% w/w, buffered to physiological pH), for instance in the form of a water-soluble sodium salt. The exact amount will depend on the particular joint to be treated.
The Merck Index Specifies that Hyaluronic Acid has a Molecular Weight within the range of 50,000 to 8.times.10.sup.6 depending on source, methods of preparation and methods of determination. The Merck Publication teaches hyaluronic acid as a surgical aid (ophthalmological).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,576 purports to teach that hyaluronic acid, an agent well known to reduce the sequelae of trauma in mammalian joint tissue when applied directly to the traumatized tissue, will be carried to such traumatized tissue by the mammal's natural processes if applied at a site remote from the traumatized tissue. Thus hyaluronic acid in any therapeutically acceptable form can, according to the Patent, be administered by the typical remote routes including intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous and topical.
This, the patent alleges, makes the utilization of hyaluronic acid much more convenient and attractive. For instance the treatment of arthritis in horse or human joints with hyaluronic acid according to the patent no longer requires more difficult intra articular injections.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,585 relates to a method of enhancing or regulating the host defence of a mammal, said method comprising administering to a mammal a therapeutically effective amount of hyaluronic acid.
At column 1 lines 43-46, the patent provides that the invention was based on the unexpected discovery that administration of hyaluronic acid to mammals results in a considerable increase in the defence.
The hyaluronic acid employed in the Patent was Healon (T.M.) provided by Pharmacia AB, Uppsala, Sweden (Pharmacia AB is also entitled to the benefit of U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,973). The patent provides at column 4, line 19 that because a patient's infections had been hard to treat, instead of just hyaluronic acid being administered to the patient to increase the patient's defence, the patient was given hyaluronic acid and an antibiotic. While the patent states that the antibiotic was given in combination with hyaluronic acid, in fact because the hyaluronic acid was administered subcutaneously and because the patient was a heart patient, one skilled in the art would understand that any antibiotic administered, while possibly administered simultaneously was definitely administered separately intravenously (probably) or intramuscularly (less probably). Thus, (most probably) the hyaluronic acid administered according to the teachings of this patent was administered in order to prevent possible development of infections (increase the host's defence) and not for any other reason.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,524 discloses cross-linked gels of hyaluronic acid, alone and mixed with other hydrophilic polymers and containing various substances or covalently bonded low molecular weight substances and processes for preparing them. These products are alleged to be useful in numerous applications including cosmetic formulations and as drug delivery systems.
The patent further states that as hyaluronic acid is known to be a biologically tolerable polymer in the sense that it does not cause any immune or other kind of response when introduced into a human body, the cross-linked hyaluronic acid gels can be used for various medical applications. The cross-linked gels modified with other polymers or low molecular weight substances it is alleged can be used as drug delivery devices. For example, the inventors are alleged to have found that heparin introduced in a cross-linked hyaluronic acid gel retained its antithrombogenic activity.
The inventors also allege that they have also found that cross-linked gels of hyaluronic acid can slow down the release of a low molecular weight substance dispersed therein but not covalently attached to the gel macromolecular matrix.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,024 purports to teach new medicaments for topical use containing:
Applicants are also aware of recently published Japanese Patent Document 61000017 dated 86/01/06 whose English abstract of disclosure states that the Japanese Patent Document relates to the use of hyaluronic acid or cross-linked hyaluronic acid or their salts as the active ingredient for inhibiting carcinoma metastasis.
According to the purported abstract of the Patent more that 1.0% of hyaluronic acid is dissolved in alkaline aq. soln. and pref. more than 50% of H.sub.2 O sol. org. solvent. eq. alcohol, acetone, dioxane, against total soln. is added. Preferably the pH is 12-14. Then multifunctional epoxy cpd. is added and reacted at 10-60 deg. C, pref. at 20-40-deg. C for 24 hrs. Cross-linking ratio of crosslinked hyaluronic acid or its salt is regulated by changing mol ratio of hyaluronic acid or its salt and multifunctional epoxy cpd.. Pref. hyaluronic acid used has intrinsic viscosity 0.2-30, m.w. 4000-2000000. The hyaluronic acid is allegedly used in several dosage forms. Clinical dose for adult is alleged to be normally, as hyaluronic acid or cross-linked hyaluronic acid, 25 mg-5 g/day (p.o.) and 10 mg-2.5 g/l dose (inj). The abstract alleges that the advantage is that the hyaluronic acid has no side effects as other anticancer drugs and has an analgesic and a tissue restoration effect.
European Patent Application 0295092 purports to teach a vehicle together with fragments of hyaluronic acid for delivering of the fragments of hyaluronic acid into the skin to reach the dermal layer of the skin to increase the development of blood vessels for stimulating hair growth or regrowth. The preferred fragments of hyaluronic acid are polysaccharides containing from 7 to 25 monosaccharide units. The patent provides it is apparent that the larger the fragments of hyaluronic acid, the greater the difficulty there is in delivering the fragments to the dermal layer of the skin, unless there is also present in the composition a means for enhancing the activity of said fragments.
The combination may thus include a means for enhancing the activity of the fragments of hyaluronic acid especially to improve their penetration through the skin following topical application. Some activity enhancers, it is alleged, also function as vehicles for the fragments of the hyaluronic acid.
Some activity enhancers are also alleged to possess the ability to stimulate or increase hair growth. Minoxidil is asserted among others to be such an activity enhancer. Thus both the fragments of hyaluronic acid and minoxidil are alleged to stimulate hair growth both delivered by a vehicle.
European Patent Application 0179442 asserts that where free radicals are formed in considerable quantities, hyaluronic acid is broken down or degraded before the hyaluronic acid has given the desired effect.
Canadian Letters Patent 1,240,929 teaches the combination of chondroitin sulfate compound and a hyaluronate to protect both human and animal cell layers and tissue subject to exposure to trauma.
European Patent Application 0208623 purports to teach hyaluronic acid as an augmentation of the activity of certain proteases. It also purports to teach the use of hyaluronic acid for treating connective tissue diseases including malignant tumors and cardiovascular disorders.
European Patent Application 270317 purports to teach the combination of an antiviral agent lacking inhibitory action and a compound [for example, hyaluronic acid] possessing cell fusion inhibitory activity and/or virus-adsorption inhibitory activity for treating disease carried by a virus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,941 purports to teach the use of an effective amount of hyaluronic acid as the active agent for the treatment of retroviruses in association with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent or excipient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,521 and European Patent Application 0265116 both describe hyaluronic acid fractions, the making thereof and cross-linked esters of hyaluronic. U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,521 describes esters of hyaluronic acid incorporated into pharmaceutical preparations as the active ingredient and as vehicles for ophthamological medicines for topical use (See column 11, lines 35 to 42; and column 12, lines 62 to column 13, line 3) and in suppositories for a systemic effect due to the effect of transcutaneous absorption, such as in suppositories.
The patent provides at column 13, lines 5 to 31:
Furosemide inhibits sodium reabsorption in the ascending limb of Henle's Loop and in both proximal and distal tubules. The action of the drug is independent of any inhibitory affect on carbonic anhydrase or aldosterone. Furosemide is known to promote diuresis in cases which have previously proved resistant to other diuretics. It has no significant pharmacological effects other than on renal function. In the human it is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Following intravenous administration a diuresis generally occurs within 30 minutes and the duration of action is about 2 hours.
Under a variety of circumstances, the patient can become relatively resistant to the effects of Lasix. This can be so for a variety of reasons but is certainly seen in those situations where there is a major amount of peripheral edema or "third spacing" of fluid which may be true in malnutrition and/or advanced carcinomas. In the latter instances, there is a markedly decreased level of albumin and in all probability, increased permeability and transudation of fluid out of the vascular system. Hence, these patients can become relatively resistant to any of the diuretics including high doses of Lasix administered intravenously.
There have been extensive studies to determine the defect in immune function that allows a tumor cell to develop. It was postulated that the immune system's major role was that of immunological surveillance to destroy abnormal cells. The concept of surveillance, while somewhat simplistic, remains an accepted concept for the elaborate mechanism of immune recognition and function that is present in the higher species--mammals.
It has then been postulated that tumors develop because of local or generalized immune suppression. However, if general immune suppression occurs, it is only certain types of neoplastic disorders that develop, mainly those of the lympho-reticular system. This observation is correct and represents a major challenge to the immune surveillance theory unless a specific reason can be shown as to why the individual cancer cell can develop plus individually evade the immune system.
It was demonstrated experimentally in 1974 that defects of macrophage function may exist in neoplastic disease.
The initial experiments found suppressor cells to be part of the immune system; these were either of the T-cell type of the macrophage cell system. There was presence demonstrated in neoplasia, chronic bacterial infection, recovery from massive injury and chronic fungal infection.
There has been repeated demonstration in experimental animals, that the macrophage cell function is altered in neoplastic disease. The macrophages in the animal's systems appeared "blocked" in their function. Generally when removed from the in vivo situation, washed in saline and cultured, they could perform normally. This block has been shown to be related to the excessive production of prostaglandin by neoplastic tissue or by the macrophage itself.
In the basic research efforts in the latter '70s and the early 80's, there existed considerable confusion as to what role immunotherapy should take in cancer. Activation or "hyping" of macrophages was thought to be important. However, in an examination of peritoneal macrophages obtained from patients with neoplastic disease, there was definite evidence that these macrophages were already activated yet were co-existing with cancer cells and not causing their destruction.
In this year, 1989 it has been shown that the malfunction of macrophages or the putative block is due to excessive prostaglandin and that this can be altered in tissue culture by corticosteroids, ASA, and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, i.e. indomethacin, and naproxen (Naprosyn.TM.). Again, in animal tumors it was repeatedly demonstrated that these substances could alter the response to neoplastic cells and that various combinations of these substances employed with immune enhancing agents could produce very credible success in eliminating experimental tumors. Researchers combined Indomethacin therapy with Interleukin 2 and showed that this could effect a cure with experiment neoplasm.
There were continued problems with the use of any of these agents in the actual human in vivo experience. All of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAID) produced major toxicity in terms of gastrointestinal, neurological, and other areas. Thus, the basis of the present approach is that under general circumstances the use of these agents in human disease, in sufficient amounts, the drug will penetrate to any pathological tissue to alter therapeutically local prostaglandin production. While intravenous preparations exist of Indomethacin and now of other agents, the data is overwhelming, as is our own experience, that using these drugs alone produces prohibitive side effects in human subjects. Therefore only insufficient amounts can be brought into the body to effect more than occasional responses in neoplasm.
However the majority of the evidence is present to indicate and therefore it can be postulated that the basis for neoplastic development and how the initial cell "sneaks by" the immune surveillance mechanism relates to its production of prostaglandin. One need postulate only one mutation to alter the amount of prostaglandin synthesis produced by cells when they become "malignant" to establish a mechanism of blocking out the initial cell in any immune reaction, i.e. the macrophage. It therefore became essential to develop a combination of NSAIDS for clinical use to produce a major improvement in response in neoplastic disease and other conditions where excessive prostaglandin synthesis represents the basis of the pathogenesis of this disease state, i.e. arthritis, and various others of the so-called connective tissue inflammatory disorders and/or auto-aggressive diseases.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,780 teaches a pharmaceutical composition comprising Vitamin C, a zinc salt, a sulfur amino acid for treating surface epithelium for epithelium regeneration. Hyaluronic acid may be added for applications in the reproductive tract.
Japanese Patent Publication 63/045223 relates to the treatment of disease caused by retroviruses. Hyaluronic acid is taught for prevention or therapy of leukemia or AIDS by suppressing replication of the virus.
An article entitled "Inactivation of Herpes Simplex Viruses by Nonionic Surfactants" by one of the inventors herein (Dr. Samuel Asculai) among others [published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 1978, pp. 686-690] disclosed nonionic surface-active agents, for example nonoxynol-9 found in Delfen.TM., "possessing ether or amide linkages between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions of the molecule rapidly inactivated the infectivity of herpes simplex viruses. The activity stemmed from the ability of nonionic surfactants to dissolve lipid-containing membranes. This was confirmed by observing surfactant destruction of mammalian cell plasma membranes and herpes simplex virus envelopes. Proprietary vaginal contraceptive formulations containing nonionic surfactants also inactivated herpes simplex virus infectivity. This observation suggests that nonionic surfactants in appropriate formulation could effectively prevent herpes simplex virus transmission."